Hard Things

There are many challenging things in life, chief among them is taking a good photograph of a toddler and an infant.  The key, just keep clicking.  If you take enough shots, you'll end up with a few keepers...

(I love Natalie's face in this one!)

I also love that in this one it looks like she's trying to end Jack.  

She was actually very gently trying to get him to look at the camera.

In Sickness and in Health

You say those words, and yet when sickness actually happens, don't they take on a much bigger meaning?  It's hard work taking care of sick loved ones.  Especially sick babies...seems everybody has something around here, and this week it hit our house.  Nat started Sunday after bedtime not feeling good, and was up pretty much all night getting progressively more stuffed up and coughing.  By morning her poor nose was so runny that every time she sneezed or cried or tried to eat, snot would shoot out of her nose.  Gross.  On top of that, we had Jack Monday, so trying to create an invisible germ barrier between a toddler and an infant is nearly impossible.

I called for reinforcements to take Jack so I could take Natalie to the doctor when she started pointing at her ear when I asked her what hurt.  Our pretty girl has a whopping ear infection.  We stocked up on supplies: gatorade, jello, popsicles, and antibiotics, and headed home for some R & R.

When Natalie is content to lay on the floor, you know she's not feeling good.  

Nat and Jack got a treat when I turned on the TV for Mickey Mouse Club

before heading to the doctor.

Finally napping at 6:00pm.  

Isn't the couch the best place when you're sick?

By Tuesday afternoon, Natalie was already feeling much better, and we were able to get outside to

enjoy the fall temperatures.

Unfortunately, it was about this time that Jack also started with a snotty nose...

(didn't I tell you it was going around?)

This is totally safe.  I swear.

Check out the girl's boots!  

haha, she found a pair of Eric's shoes and decided to have a fashion show

I am happy to report that today Nat is feeling much, much better.  Unfortunately, we've regressed considerably in her sleeping arrangements.  She is back to sleeping in her crib, where she obviously feels a lot more comfortable.  But yesterday and today she is napping in her new room.  She went down with a lot more of a fight though.  Sickness strikes at the most inopportune times, doesn't it?  With this ear infection, she's also officially on the ear infection watch list since she just had one in July.  If this keeps up, we'll be visiting an ENT to discuss a plan.  Fingers crossed, these are isolated incidents.

Eric and I are also fighting colds, though today I feel a lot better.  Actually, I haven't ever really felt THAT bad, just headachey and congested and loads of sneezing, which I think is radically unfair given the load my bladder is already forced to withstand thanks to baby.  Speaking of baby...

BABY WATCH 2012

This week is a milestone: officially full-term!  At 36 weeks, I'm now going weekly to the doctor, and today am 1 cm dilated.  No biggie.  The doctor did, however, state with certainty that I would not be making the due date of 10/19.  In fact, if I haven't gone into labor before that, I will be sent to the hospital to be induced on 10/16.  Why?  Well, because of the strikingly fast labor I had with Natalie.  Further, the plan was decided that if I come in for a check, and am 2-3 cm dilated, I will be sent to the hospital to break my water and get things rolling.  Fine by me, I guess.  What option do I really have?  I don't have a good argument to not go along with this plan, other than wanting a smooth, fast, natural labor like last time.  That said, obviously I don't want to deliver a baby at home or on the highway.  So, back next week for another check....

Another Day at the Zoo

I know you all are probably getting a little tired of reading about all of our zoo trips, but here we go anyway.  Last Friday was an extra-special zoo day.  We had lots of great company (another bonus of our zoo pass, we get a free guest with each trip!).  In addition to Aunt Beth and Jack, we had 3 other moms and 5 other kids along with us.  It was great fun for all the kids....especially Natalie.

Goats!  

She was so gentle with all the animals.  When we went into the goat pen, she walked carefully from goat to goat, making sure to pet each one, except for the two that were eating and I had to drag her away from.

This one next, mama!

My brave girl feeding a giraffe a cracker

She was so excited!

It was another hot, sweaty day...

Gently touching the turtles....

I love that she was using just one finger so she didn't press too hard

Just like with the goats, all the turtles got a pet

Mowing Mama

It should come as no surprise to you that our outdoor girl has suddenly become obsessed with mowing the grass.  This isn't something I'm advocating she participates in all the time.  After all, I am mom, and am worried about her falling off or something flying out from under the mower and hitting her, you get the point.  But a few spins around the yard while she's behaving has gone just fine so far.  And, of course, Eric loves the time he gets to spend with Nat.

Could these two look more alike right here?

I just love this.

(And, notice, I did some editing?)

She was so proud of herself

Banana Phone

Warning!  If you don't want what is possibly the world's most annoying song stuck in your head for the rest of eternity, stop reading and watching immediately.  Otherwise, continue, but know that you've been warned!

Tonight we had a few errands to run, and on the way home Natalie got hungry.  Enter the snacks I packed: peanut butter crackers and a banana.  While she was eating the banana, Eric started to sing "Banana Phone."  Out of nowhere, Natalie started to sing along from the back seat.  We were cracking up, and she also thought it was hilarious.

I wish I had recorded her car rendition, because it was priceless.  Instead, here is the abbreviated kitchen version:

And, in case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the actual song.  (Eric does a pretty good job, don't you think?!)

Practical Running Advice & Anecdotes: How to Pick a Race

Ok, you all are adults, so this is how this is going to work.  I've linked the blogs together (to the left under Blogs I Follow) so you can see new posts to the running blog.  If you want to follow both, keep coming here and you can navigate yourself to the running site as you wish.  If you only want to read the running blog, then click on the link below and save that address so you don't have to visit this blog again.  Make sense?  Figured that was the easiest way to keep things streamlined.  This will be the last post I link to this blog, from now on look left for new posts.

Practical Running Advice & Anecdotes: How to Pick a Race: Last week I posted a long wish list of races I'd like to do next year, and I promised to follow up with how I go about picking which races t...

Crash Kranz

We are strongly considering changing Natalie's name.  Thoughts?

If you've followed along with Natalie's tales of injury over the past 20 months, you're familiar with her penchant for having multiple accidents per day, resulting in countless falls, cuts, scrapes, bumps, bruises, trips to the ER (ok, so that just happened once for an accident)....anyway, you get the idea.  I wouldn't call Natalie a clumsy kid at all, which is the odd thing.  I actually think of her as a pretty athletic kid for someone her age.  She was an early crawler, and an early walker.  She's a daredevil, afraid of nothing.  She climbs the rock wall and rope ladder on her swing set, walks up the slide, dives off of furniture, yelling "jump" whether someone is ready to catch her or not.

So, why the injuries?  And why the name change?  I think the injuries are directly related to her athleticism and fearlessness.  There's not a thing she won't attempt, hence participation in higher risk activities for someone so small (i.e. diving off furniture, scaling playground equipment).  Plus she's a wild woman who cannot physically sit still unless she is sleeping, and even then she is all over the place.

Eric thought of the catchy nickname last night, or one injury ago.  Saturday night, Nat was running outside, tripped over a high spot on the sidewalk where two squares of concrete meet, and did a full layout.  She ended up with a few scrapes on her knees, and a nice patch of road rash on her right elbow.  No biggie, but it did end up being a decent scrape about the size of a quarter or bigger by the next day.  Monday night, we had a few more minutes to go before it was time to go in for the night, and decided to head for the swings.  Nat took off through the yard, which is probably due for a mow, tripped, and tore the scab loose, but it was still on.  The result was a much nicer scab by this morning.  Late this morning, I was giving Jack a bottle, when Nat decided to "sweep" the kitchen floor.  She got out the broom, then got bored with the activity, and left the broom in the middle of the room.  Can you tell where this is going yet?  Nat tripped over the broom, running full speed for her milk (or something?), landing on the kitchen rug, which is sort of an indoor/outdoor, hard weave rug.  The entire scab came off this time, with a considerable amount of new skin.  Too much info?

Anyway, she came screaming to me, waving a badly bleeding elbow.  Her shirt and shorts were covered, there was a trail across the hardwood, thankfully none across the carpet, and ended up all over my shirt.  Jack's burp cloth also took a beating since that was the closest thing I had to put pressure on the wound.  Lots of tears, a thorough washing, "cream" and a bandaid, pacifier, and cuddle with Minnie, and she was out like a light....

Nat and Cici passed out on mama's bed

I'm kind of digging the new nickname....you?

Pool Party

Our new daily mission is to take precious advantage of the last few days of summer, to make the most of Nat and Mama one-on-one time, and to get the last few things ready for Nat's full transition to her new room, and complete baby prep.  This week, we put bedroom transition mostly on hold and baby prep happened not at all.  But, we did have an impromptu pool party, so big time accomplishment there!

The water was like ice!  

Which is a really shocking thing considering it's a private pool in full sun all day...

Nat minded a lot less than I did.

Beth and Jack came, too.

my daredevil loves jumping in

nothing beats the heat like an orange sherbet push pop

(no kidding, I could have eaten 6 of these)

catching some sun

(not to worry, two applications of SPF 55 on that copper tone baby)

By the way, I know I promised pictures of Natalie's new room ages ago.  I haven't forgotten.  I'm still trying to finish her quilt, which is so, so close to being done, and rehang one of the wall decorations that won't stay up!  So, anyway, still coming.  But, for the past 2 weeks, Natalie has been successfully napping in her new room (though that's been a little rough getting her to actually  lay down without a fight), so in another couple weeks, we'll try to make the jump to sleeping overnight!